Beneficiently messing with our minds
Mar. 10th, 2005 07:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthieA good morning, walking wise: I managed to get myself out the door by 5:45 a.m. despite having stayed up way too late last night and get 2 miles in before heading off to work. My subject for musing this morning (and these early-morning walks do seem to be excellent for rumination) was an appreciation of a news story from our local ABC affiliate on the various protests being held at the capitol buildings in our state capital. The protests center around the current State Supreme Court ruminations on the constitutionality (or lack thereof) of a 1998 law preventing same-sex couples from obtaining marriage certificates from state offices. Needless to say, there were large groups (both for and against) agitating all over the Capitol Lawn.
The local affiliate made it a point to mention that many people had come from all over the state to make their opinions known. For those of you who don't know, my state (like many in the nation) is somewhat schizophrenic, with the east popularly conceptualized as socially conservative, and the west as socially liberal. The announcer dramatically introduced eleven people who had travelled from the eastern half of the state (definitely a long drive) who were determined to make their voices heard, then played their interview...where they advocated their opinion about how same-sex couples should be allowed to marry just like anyone else, and discrimination under the law is completely unacceptable in this day and age. The announcer then proceeded to introduce the anti-same-sex marriage representatives and played their interview...where they advocated their opinion about how they answered to a Higher Authority and that a Christian government couldn't possibly allow such a thing...and extended their invitation to viewers to join them in their congregation, located in the urban western part of the state.
Sneaky, sneaky, you newsies...and well done, bringing home the fact once again that no matter where we live or what the popular stereotype of the population might be, there's people of varying opinions all over the place. Way to make us look our automatic assumptions right in the face and laugh at them.
The local affiliate made it a point to mention that many people had come from all over the state to make their opinions known. For those of you who don't know, my state (like many in the nation) is somewhat schizophrenic, with the east popularly conceptualized as socially conservative, and the west as socially liberal. The announcer dramatically introduced eleven people who had travelled from the eastern half of the state (definitely a long drive) who were determined to make their voices heard, then played their interview...where they advocated their opinion about how same-sex couples should be allowed to marry just like anyone else, and discrimination under the law is completely unacceptable in this day and age. The announcer then proceeded to introduce the anti-same-sex marriage representatives and played their interview...where they advocated their opinion about how they answered to a Higher Authority and that a Christian government couldn't possibly allow such a thing...and extended their invitation to viewers to join them in their congregation, located in the urban western part of the state.
Sneaky, sneaky, you newsies...and well done, bringing home the fact once again that no matter where we live or what the popular stereotype of the population might be, there's people of varying opinions all over the place. Way to make us look our automatic assumptions right in the face and laugh at them.
